The passage from childhood to adulthood happens when the child begins to realise that life is hard, death is certain and the chances are pretty good that he or she is going to be struggling for the rest of their life. These harsh realities wash away the idealism, naiveté and illusions of youth. Also this maturation process causes the youth to have a new understanding of what responsibility and stewardship means as well as the desire to make an impact on reality and leave the world a better place. This process occurs as a result of both experience and information. As a youth gathers more information through the experience of life he or she reaches certain inevitable conclusions.

The initial inquiry into life involves the consumption of vast amounts of information. Some of it is fascinating and life-altering but sad to say, much of it useless within the confines of daily life. As one matures, one begins to learn the art of discernment and to weave their way through information, discarding that which is not useful and keeping that which is. This is how information becomes knowledge. Once information has gone beyond facts and has woven itself into a coherent stream of knowledge, a certain kind of confidence is engendered in the individual.